For the second consecutive year, the Big 12 sent at least three teams to the NCAA Men’s Basketball Sweet 16, as No. 1 seed Arizona and No. 2 seeds Houston and Iowa State won second round games.
This marks the fifth consecutive year that the Big 12 has sent multiple teams to the second weekend, and this year possesses three of the top six remaining overall seeds in the Big Dance. It is the 11th time in the 29 NCAA Tournaments since the Conference began play that three teams advanced to the Regional round.
No. 1 seed Arizona used a pair of double-digit wins over No. 16 seed LIU (92-58) and No. 9 seed Utah State (78-66) to advance to West Regional, held at the SAP Center in San Jose, California. The Wildcats, now 34-2 on the season, face No. 4 seed Arkansas at 6:45 p.m. MST (8:45 p.m. CT) on CBS Thursday in what is the program’s third consecutive Sweet 16 appearance.
No. 2 seed Houston extended the nation’s longest active streak with its seventh consecutive Sweet 16 appearance, where they will play a short drive from campus at the South Regional, inside the Toyota Center in downtown Houston. The Cougars posted a pair of 31-point wins over No. 15 seed Idaho (78-47) and No. 10 seed Texas A&M (88-57) to notch its fifth consecutive 30+ win season, sitting at 30-6 entering Thursday’s game against No. 3 seed Illinois at 9:05 p.m. CT on TBS and truTV.
No. 2 seed Iowa State is in the second weekend for the third time in five seasons, heading to the Midwest Regional in Chicago’s United Center to face No. 6 seed Tennessee (9:10 p.m. CT, TBS and truTV) Friday. After a tournament-opening 108-74 win over No. 15 seed Tennessee State, the Cyclones rallied without Joshua Jefferson to defeat No. 7 seed Kentucky 82-63. Iowa State outscored UK 51-33 in the second half, behind a career-high 26 points by Tamin Lipsey.
Regional Semifinals – Thursday, March 26
(1) Arizona vs. (4) Arkansas (CBS) [San Jose, Calif.] – 8:45 p.m. CT/6:45 p.m. MST
(2) Houston vs. (3) Illinois (TBS, truTV) [Houston, Texas] – 9:05 p.m. CT
Regional Semifinals – Friday, March 27
(2) Iowa State vs. (6) Tennessee (TBS, truTV) [Chicago, Ill.] – 9:10 p.m. CT
